


A little Bit of Hope

by Pikuna



Series: Vesuvian Mystics [1]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Extended Tavern scene, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Tarot Cards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-16 10:33:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12340938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikuna/pseuds/Pikuna
Summary: During their encounter in the Rowdy Raven, apprentice Ajina explains the actual meaning of the Death Tarot Card to Julian.





	A little Bit of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Since months I suffer from a bad case of writersblock and I tried to tackle it with my newest obsession, since it gave me a motivation boost.  
> And holy hell it worked! Feels so good to write something again. xD
> 
> This actually wasn't my first idea for an Arcana fanfiction, but it was the first in the time line. xD  
> Anyway, I really hope I did a good take on Julian's character. This jumping of mood is something I noticed tends to happen in the game itself, which isn't a bad thing.
> 
> Also a notice: English isn't my first language, so feel free to correct any mistakes you might find.

Julian grinned into his stein, when Ajina sat back down into the booth they both occupied in the Rowdy Raven with a triumphal hum.

"I presume you return victorious from your little stare-down, huh?" he asked after putting down his drink and intertwining his fingers on the table.

The wide grin the apprentice gave him was already answer enough for him. "You presume right. Wasn't more than a mumble, but I got my apology."

"Well, congratulations to you my friend. That was impressive," Julian said and gave her a little applaud.

Ajina, basking in the satisfaction of her little victory, made a small bow in her sitting position. "Why, thank you kindly." 

Chuckling at her extravagance, he tilted his head and regarded her. "You are so...aggressive. For a pretty fortune teller."

That stopped Ajina in her boasting charade. "I...I'm not _aggressive,"_ she sputtered, red decorating her cheeks upon him calling her pretty. "Just know how to handle myself."

"Oh?" he asked and raised amused an eyebrow. "Like you handled me with the vase, when I came to your shop?" 

"You were creeping up on me!" she defended her past action and then pointed a finger at him. "You with your hang for dramatic flair."

But Julian simply waved this accusation away. "Please, that wasn't dramatic, merely practical. Had to play safe that you were the only one in the shop."

"Sure," Ajina said with a snort. Then she leant a bit forward on the table towards him, which he immediately mimicked. "But when my memory serves me right, you were more impressed than angered back then."

"Hmm, I was. You have quite the aim." He rubbed the spot on his forehead were the vase had hit him. Ajina felt a small pang of guilt, but Julian continued with a shrug. "After all, I had counted on dealing only with magic. Not flying interior."

For a moment they just looked at each other, before they burst into laughter. In retrospect it really had been a funny first encounter they had.

"Had to improvise, since my magic really wasn't very effective against you," Ajina said after she got herself under control again.

Julian let out an exhausted sigh before he answered. "Ah well. Despite my profession I had my fair share of magic in the past. For the better or worse."

The last words were spoken so quiet, she had almost missed them. Any amusement had vanished from his face and Julian looked thoughtful into his stein. She wondered what was the reason for this sudden change in his mood. Had he a bad experience with magic on the past?

After pondering if she should ask him about it, Ajina dismissed that ideas. Instead she wanted to address a topic that was nagging had her since their first meeting. 

"I guess tarot cards are not included in that fair share, am I right?"

This question shook him out of his thoughts and Julian looked up in surprise. "Not that I can say. Why?"

Ajina started to rummage through her satchel to retrieve the Death card and held it up to Julian. He looked rather displeased at the card and then quirked a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"Since you are treating me so kindly with drinks for my reading, I want to correct something. Or better, finished said reading as good as I can now," she explained, but he scoffed slightly at this proposal. "I don't know what there is to be corrected or finished. The card is pretty self-explaining, albeit ridiculous in this case."

The creaking of leather was audible, when Julian clenched his fist. Even when he appeared rather frustrated in this moment, Ajina tried her best to keep a cheery tone to her words. 

"And that's where you are wrong~" she said in a singsong and grinned when the doctor looked skeptical at her. The Death card laid flat in her hand, until she concentrated some magic and let it float and rotate in the air. "People often mistaken this card as a foretelling of real death, but there is more to it."

Ajina's voice had now a hushed, mysterious tone to it and was fully concentrated on the rotating card in her hand. Due to this she didn't notice how Julian's lips twitched into a smile and simply continued with her explanation. "It does tell of an end, but not necessary the one of a life. Maybe the end of a long-lasting friendship or the end of something that burdened one for years. But also of beginnings, that you put something old behind yourself and start with something new."

With her other hand Ajina did a little swirl and the card started to rotate the other way around. "There is also the way of interpreting it as a reminder, that one should concentrate on the essential things in life and cutting out what isn't necessary. Sometimes it also warns you of going through events that cannot be avoided, that one should accept the inevitable and see where fate takes them."

With her elaboration now finished, Ajina snatched the card out of the air and grinned at Julian. "As you can see, there is more to this card than simple death."

"So it seems," he agrees and just know she notices his smirk, which only widened when she blinked confused at him. "You are such a hypocrite Ajina," he explained himself, one elbow on the table and chin leaning on his hand. "First accusing me for being dramatic and yet here you are. Pulling of a little magic performance."

That caught her by surprise. She hadn't realized that her playing around with the card and using that tone could be seen as dramatic show off. 

"Ah well. I accidentally slipped into my customer face. They love it when I go all mysterious and that," she lied and scratched her cheek a bit embarrassed. Truth was that she never simply _slipped_ into that face. Julian just seemed to have a bad influence on her already. 

"Understandable, everyone loves a good show," he agreed with a chuckle. But then his amusement was replaced with something neutral and and he looked intensely at her. "All that aside...what does this mean for me now?"

"Right," Ajina nodded and put the card on the table, touching it with two fingers. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate. It was no easy task to continue a reading like this days after she had started, but she still beckoned the card's energy to give her something about Julien's fortune, nudging it into the direction of his aura. After more than a minute she finally got her answer.

"The end to your chase," she said, while opening her eyes and looking into nothing.

"My chase?" Julian asked puzzled. Before she could answer, Ajina needed to blink a few times to clear her head.

"Yeah, well. You are on the run aren't you? Unless there is another chase I don't know about?"

There was, after all, the fact that the doctor had come to her shop looking for Asra. Was he chasing her master and was that his reason to leave so quickly? 

Ajina starred expectantly at Julian. He looked down at the table for a moment, before giving her a rather vague answer. 

"Possibly."

Well, she already had expected such kind of answer. With a sigh she picked the Death card up and put it back into her satchel.

"Hm, whatever chase it is, it will end. Very soon actually."

A nod of acknowledgment was his only answer and he turned turned his head to the site, so that only his eye-patch was visible from this angle. He seemed to muse about this new information, before he addressed her again without turning his head. "The card doesn't happen to say if it ends in a good or bad way?"

Ajina wished she could give him an answer to that, but all she did was shaking her head. "Sadly no, I can't get any specifics out of it." His sigh was one of reluctant defeat, which made her add the next sentence. "But there is a chance that all could end well and I really hope it will."

"Do you now?" he asked and turned his head around with a bitter smile that told her that he didn't really believed her. However Ajina couldn't tell if it was because he didn't thought of the good ending to be possible or he didn't took her words for being honest. Anyway, she couldn't stand this gloomy expression on his face and wanted to make it go away.

"Yes, I do doctor." Ajina then put one of her hands atop of his and squeezed it slightly. "I can't give you more than the hope of a good fortune. But I can guess that in your situation hope is a scarce thing and that you need any bit that you can get."

Julian looked visibly surprised at her words and said nothing for a few seconds, before he let out a huff of disbelieve. "You have no idea how right you are with that." He turned his hand around, so that it could held hers and squeezed back. "Thank you Ajina, I really appreciate it."

The grateful smile he gave her sent warmth to Ajina's face and chest and a tingling sensation crept up her arm, when Julian's thumb started to stroke over her knuckles. Those two things combined made her head go all fuzzy and _that_ set off her warning bells. 

"Y-You are welcome. Just doing my job," she mumbled quickly. With a last squeeze and a smile that she hoped was convincing enough to hide her embarrassment, Ajina let go of Julian's hand and leant back into her seat. His chuckle indicated that she failed spectacularly, but he didn't comment on it and just nursed his drink again. 

A companionable silence fell over them and they listened to the music and ruckus in the tavern. 

Ajina used that moment to gather her thoughts. Just for once she wanted to listen to her brain, instead of her guts to solve this mystery around the death of Count Lucio. Right now she was doing the exact opposite. It was one thing to get friendly with the suspected murderer, but starting to develop a crush on him was so typical rash of her. As much as she wanted to believe in Julian's innocence, she had to stay objective until she found useful proof for or against him. 

A sigh escaped her and as subtle as possible she rubbed her temple. 

Only that Julian didn't make it easy for the apprentice to stay objective. She had never imagined that the doctor was such a kind man and fun to hang around with. Even when he obviously had his secrets, she couldn't help but feel drawn to him.

And then there were his smiles!

Whenever he looked with this suave expression at her, she felt her knees go weak and the realization hitting her that she was _so_ in trouble. 

As Ajina had the feeling she was now again, when she glanced to Julian. His focus was on the spot of the tavern that was supposed to be the dance floor, if the dancing drunkards were any indication. The smirk on his face was an attest for him on planning, surely something she wouldn't like. 

But before she could address, Julian put down his stein and stood up.

"Say, would you fancy a little dance?" he asked and hold his hand towards her.

Dumbfounded Ajina blinked at the hand and then at Julian, who looked expectantly at her. A nervous laugh came from her, before she shook her head. "Better not. I'm awful at dancing."

"Oh, come on Ajina," he cooed at her. "Just one little dance. That surely won't be too hard for you, or?"

Julian was teasing her, was challenging her. And Ajina never backed off a challenge.

With a wide grin she grabbed his offering hand. "You brought this on yourself doctor. Don't come to me crying when I stomp on your feet."

Laughter erupted from Julian at that. 

However, before he could pull her up, the raven from earlier flew into the tavern and started to screech, warning the people of the arriving guards.

So instead of being dragged to the dance floor, Ajina was dragged outside the tavern. She didn't know if she should be relieved or sad about this. 


End file.
